Jim Bauer walked with two outs, moved up on a single and then passed ball, and scored on an error on a soft toss to first base to score the tying run in the bottom of the fifth inning and the new Monarchs team held on for an 8-8 tie against the champion Silver Bats at Hamtramck Stadium.
Ed Klieman was the pitching victim of the tie in his two-inning relief stint, but struck out three. Sal Calcagno worked the first four innings and gave up four hits and walked just one, with six of the seven runs against him unearned as the 'Bats made five errors.
The top of the Silver Bats order, like last year, was gold and it seemed like everything would fall in place after they scored four runs in the first inning and four in the second. But . . . they didn't get a hit the rest of the way off Tom Richards after getting six hits off him in the first two innings.
Meanwhile, Manager Joe Masching's Monarchs also scored four runs in the first inning, all unearned due to three errors and a catcher's interference call. They added a run in the second and two unearned in the third.
The top four 'Bats -- Ray Lemanski, Klieman, Fred Krause, and Tim Kostelnik, got five of the team's six hits and scored seven of the eight runs. Krause was 2-for-3 with three RBI and newcomer Kostelnik had a two-run single in the first. John Turrell had a single and double for the Royal Crowns, plus a run, and Jim Bauer had a pair of walks and scored twice. Andy Lukacs was on base three times, once on an error and two singles, one taking a bad hop on the hard infield. Richards no-hit the Silver Bats from the third inning on. The time limit thwarted a chance for either team to push across a winning run at the beautifully restored (but drought hard ground) of Turkey Stearns Field.
Steve Kosuda scattered seven hits and walked just one and his Grays teammates scored two runs in each of the first two innings off Ed Klieman and hung on to beat the Silver Bats 4-2 in their rain-dampened game Thursday at Hamtramck Stadium.
Klieman walked leadoff man Joe Pirronello to start to Grays first inning. After getting a strikeout, Klieman walked Ken Barnowski and they both raced home on a double to center by Gary Parsons. The Grays, 2-0, bumped their lead to 4-0 with a pair of runs in the second. Tom Cattaneo opened with a single and Gary Roediger doubled. Dan Moore's grounder to the right side sent Cattaneo across the plate and then Curt Sylvester did the same thing to score Roediger.
Kosuda 10 of the first 12 batters before Klieman drilled a triple up the right-center gap and he scored on Gregg Housey's groundout to third. The Silver Bats got a run in the sixth when Mike Hendrie walked, Randy Stark was safe on a fielder's choice and got to second on a ground-out by Larry Paladino, then Roger Rushford hit a long shot deep to left along the outfield line to score the run.
Klieman, who struck out five, worked the first four innings and Sal Calcagno the last two. Kosuda, after giving up a leadoff single in the seventh to Fred Krause, retired the next three batters.
Gary Faulkes had flown up from North Carolina to play first base for the Silver Bats but has to return next week. Gary Sovey, meanwhile, played two innings at first to see how it would go as he recovered from quadruple heart bypass surgery. Another 'Bats first baseman, Dave Franklin, arrived late after having to call 9-1-1 because a man was lying in the street in front of his house.
Sal Calcagno pitched a four-hitter and walked just one and played strong defense on balls up the middle to lead the Silver Bats to a 9-0 victory Monday over the Monarchs at Macomb Community College. He also drilled a two-run single in the five-run third inning off Tom Richards to key the offense, which had 10 hits and eight walks.
The 'Bats got the only run they needed in the opening inning when Ed Klieman and Fred Krause walked and Klieman raced home on lefty catcher Gregg Housey's single to right. The fifth-inning uprising began with Roger Clark's leadoff single. Ray Lemanski followed with another base hit; Klieman walked; Krause singled in a run; Calcagno got his two-run hit with one out; then Eddie Harmon singled in a run.
Calcagno, who was 8-0 last year and was the season champion Silver Bats MVP, retired the first 10 Monarchs and had six assists for the game, while striking out four.
Klieman, who made a couple sparkling plays at short, walked with one out in the fifth and sauntered home on a Krause double. After a two-out walk to Calcagno, Gary Faulkes drove Krause in with a single. The 'Bats tagged on an insurance run in the sixth of the six-inning, time-shortened game. Larry Paladino walked for the second time, then Mike Hendrie was hit by a pitch. After a Monarchs' double-play, Clark, who was on base three times, singled Hendrie to third and the speedy runner scored on a throwing error from the outfield.
Dennis MacDonald was on his game, spacing four hits, striking out nine, and contributing four RBI and his Moran Stars teammates pounded four Silver Bats pitchers for 17 hits for a 19-3 route at Hazel Park.
Sal Calcagno, who pitched a four-hit, 9-0 shutout victory two days prior versus the Monarchs, said he was OK to pitch again, but wasn't the same pitcher. The Stars scored five runs in the first inning and four unearned in the second and coasted. Eddie Harmon relieved Calcagno and pitched 2 1-3 shutout innings before the Stars had a four-run sixth, though three of the runs were unearned.
Larry Paladino started the seventh inning on the mound for the numbers-deprived 'Bats and was wild, walking four, allowing one double and striking out one before Ed Klieman came on to get the last two outs.
MacDonald got a bit wild in the fifth, walking three and giving up a run-scoring single by Paladino. The Silver Bats got another run off him in the sixth on a force-out by Fred Krause to score Ray Lemanski, who had doubled and took third on a wild pitch. Mike Hendrie's forceout in the seventh produced the third 'Bats run, scoring Calcagno who had double and moved up on a ground out.
Les Lindberg came all the way from Lansing to make his debut with the Silver Bats to help out with their numbers problem and played a decent third base after trying to acclimate from softball. Meanwhile, Gary Sovey continues to make a remarkable comeback from quadruple heart bypass surgery, playing six strong innings at first base, though not in the batting order. And Hendrie got his first chance to play in the field, helping out with an inning at first. Also, Jim Brake got an opportunity for an inning in right field.
Eddie Klieman's bases-loaded triple keyed a seven-run Silver Bats fourth inning off Gary Gavlinski and Fred Krause followed with another triple and scored on a throwing error on the play as they outlasted the Monarchs 14-11.
The top four of the Silver Bats order got back to its 2022 efficiency getting 11 of the team's 17 hits. Leadoff man Ray Lemanski was 2-for-4 with three runs; Klieman was 4-for-4 with three runs and three RBI; Fred Krause was 3-for-4 with two runs and three RBI; and Gregg Housey was 2-for-4 with an RBI.
Eddie Harmon, back with a starting role for the first time in ages, pitched a complete game for the Silver Bats. Though he gave up 11 runs, only four were earned . Eight of the runs came in the opening inning as the Monarchs poked and blooped singles all over the place.
Gavlinski was the victim of a few errors as well and unfortunately the worst came after the game was knotted at 11 and the 'Bats scored an unearned run in the sixth on a dropped popup on the infield -- the one time Krause didn't crush a pitch. The Silver Bats added two unearned runs in the top of the seventh. Harmon retired the Monarchs in order in the final two innings to preserve the triumph, the 'Bats' second agains two losses and a tie -- the tie being versus the expansion Monarchs.
Several players wore masks due to the hazy atmosphere caused my the wildfires in Canada -- and perhaps because the Kyte-Monroe grounds crew decided to fertilize the outfield just as the game was about to get underway.
Gad Holland's game leadoff triple keyed a five-run first inning erruption for the Moran Stars and that was all they needed to defeat the roster deprived Silver Bats 10-4 in their 70+ game in 90-degree weather Wednesday at Brother Rice Stadium.
A dropped ball on a line drive and a hit that skipped past an outfielder made three of the runs in the inning unearned, despite five solid hits off Sal Calcagno. A pair of Bats infield errors in the second led to two more unearned runs. A third base error led to the Stars getting an unearned run in the fourth that scored on a balk, and they added another two unearned in the fifth due to two infield errors in the unusually sloppy game for the Silver Bats, who fell to a 2-3-1 record. The Stars climbed to 4-2.
The Silver Bats have been fighting to have enough players all season long. They had 11 for the latest game, but first baseman Gary Sovey just plays in the field while recovering from heart surgery and the bottom three in the order generally don't play in the field and all get courtesy runners. Yet . . . those three, Dave Franklin, Roger Rushford, and Jim Brake, were on base seven times -- via four walks, a hit batter, and two singles.
The powerful top half of the order had some nice shots -- that were stabbed by Stars defensive super plays. Meanwhile, Mark Switalski, who walked six, hit one and gave up eight hits, constantly got out of jams. The 'Bats left eight on base the first three innings. Their player shortage may ease up when one player gets back from vacation, another finally gets some time off work, and another makes it back to the area from his home in North Carolina.
Meanwhile, the team is making due at various positions as well as they can and hoping to stay competitive when the games start piling up in a couple weeks. There are two postponed games that still have to be played, but there are some players still due to head out on vacations. The two-time defending champs lost six players from last season and replacements have been very part-time.
The Silver Bats broke open a 2-1 lead with a six-run fourth inning, highlighted by Eddie Klieman's bases-loaded triple, and they exploded for an 11-run fifth in their 19-3 five-inning triumph over the Monarchs in the 70+ division game at Hamtramck.
At least four of the runs in the fifth off starter Tom Richards were unearned due to two errors, but eight of the 10 Silver Bats got at least one RBI. Richards struck out five but walked nine in the tight-strike-zone game. He gave up 16 hits and hit two batters. 'Bats starter Sal Calcagno, meanwhile, pitched four innings and allowed five hits. The Monarchs stored a run off him in the opening inning on a force-out by Gary Gavlinski after singles by Joe Ludwig and John Lollio. Their other two runs came in the fourth, with Andy Lukacs driving both in with a single after hits by Lollio and Gavlinski. Kleiman got the side out one-two-three in the bottom of the fifth and the game was called on a time limit.
Kleiman was 3-for-5 with five RBI, scoring four times. He also had a double from his No. 2 spot in the order. No; 3 hitter Fred Krause was 2-for-4 with three RBI and cleanup hitter Gregg Housey was 2-for-4 with three RBI. Larry Paladino, celebrating his 81st birthday, walked four times and scored twice as the Silver Bats evened their record at 3-3-1, second in the division behind the 5-2 of both the Stars and Grays.
The Silver Bats got all the runs they needed in the first inning, jumping on Moran Stars starter Mark Switalski for four runs on four hits and an error and went on to an 11-2 upset at Kyte Monroe. The 'Bats added two runs in the third, two in the fourth, one in the fifth and two more in the sixth.
No. 2 batter in their order, Ed Klieman, was 2-for-3, including a double, and scored three runs. And on the mound he went the full six innings, scattering six hits. One of the two runs off him were unearned and he struck out five.
Gary Sovey, back from heart surgery and starting back to be in the batting order, was 3-for-3 with three RBI. Jim Brake got his first RBI of the year and played two innings at third. Seven different 'Bats in the 11-man roster had an RBI and nine had hits.
The Stars fell to 5-3, a half game ahead of the 4-3-1 'Bats, with the Grays on top of the standings at 6-2 heading into two games next week against the Silver Bats.
A leadoff single by Dave Pichan followed by a triple by Ken Barnowski in the first inning started the Grays off on a five-run inning off Sal Calcagno and they fought off a Silver Bats comeback for a 9-5 victory at Novi. Jess Monticello picked up the victory in relief of Pichan. Two Silver Bats errors led to three of the runs in the first being unearned and an error in the fourth led to one of three runs being unearned. They added an insurance run in the sixth as time ran out.
The 'Bats got two runs in the second as Calcagno, who was 3-for-3, singled. Then walks to Randy Stark and Eddie Harmon loaded the bases in front of Mike Hendrie being hit by a pitch. Larry Paladino singled in a run on a hit to center. The team scored twice more in the third to make the score 5-4. Ray Lemanski, who was 2-for-2 plus a walk, walked to start the inning. Ed Klieman singled. Third baseman Barnowski made a nice play on Fred Krause's shot down the line for an out before Gregg Housey singled a run in and, after Gary Sovey was hit by a pitch, Calcago got an RBI hit.
Stark knocked in the final Silver Bats run in the sixth with a ground out that scored Sovey's courtesy runner after he singled and Calcagno doubled.
Pichan and Monticello scattered nine hits and the 'Bats stranded 10 in six innings, including leaving the bases loade in the third and fifth.
The first-place Grays, on the other hand, ripped 14 hits, including five in a row in the three-run fourth.
It was fortunate both teams had enough players in view of the endless construction in the area, including Taft Road, the only street leads to the field. Players have to come from the south, going north on Taft from Nine Mile since you can't turn left off 10. Fans were upset that the bathrooms were locked.
The bottom part of the batting order pulled through for the Silver Bats at Kyte Monroe to help bring them from a 4-3 deficit to a 5-4 victory Wednesday over the first-place Grays with two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning off reliever Gary Parsons.
It had looked like the 'Bats might take the lead in the bottom of the fifth with two on and two outs when Fred Krause's line shot over the bag at third was snagged by Ken Barnowski to thwart a possible two-out double. Then in the next Silver Bats inning Gregg Housey beat out an infield single that just went off first baseman Curt Sylvester's glove. Gary Sovey had a nice bunt sacrifice to put the tying run at second. Then Sal Calcagno lined a single and Eddie Harmon walked to load the bases. No. 8 hitter Mike Hendrie then hit a single through the hole at short to knot the score at 4-4. That brought up No. 9 hitter Roger Clark, who got an infield hit to drive in what proved to be the winning run.
Calcagno, who had come in to pitch with one out in the fifth after 'Bats starter Ed Klieman twisted his back, got the first two Grays out, gave up a walk to Barnowski, then got Gary Roediger to loop a ball to center field that now-shortstop Klieman backpeddled and caught as he tumbled over backwards to end the game. Klieman had gotten the leadoff batter in the fifth out but injured his back on his first pitch to the next hitter. He tried one more pitch and then traded spots with shortstop Calcagno, who was the starter and loser two days earlier to the Grays. Calcago got a popout on his first batter, struck out the next one, then got a one-two-three sixth inning.
The Grays scored three unearned runs in the first inning due to two infield errors. The Silver Bats got two runs back in the bottom of the first. Ray Lemanski opened with a single. Klieman followed with another. Krause singled in a run and a ground-out by lefty Housey brought home Klieman. A sacrifice fly by Krause in the third knotted the score at three after a Lemanski walk and Klieman single. But the Grays regained the lead with a run in the fourth. Roediger singled with one out, then Parsons walked. Tom Cattaneo forced Roediger at third,, but Tom Armstrong's two-out singled scored Parsons.
Steve Kosuda started on the mound for the Grays and worked the first four innings, giving up three runs and six hits. Parsons pitched the last two innings to take the loss.
Eddie Harmon scattered seven hits in a complete game and Gary Sovey was 2-for-2 plus a key sacrifice bunt to lead the Silver Bats to a 4-1 triumph over the Monarchs in their 70+ game at Brother Rice. Harmon walked just one and struck out one in his second start of the season to raise his record to 2-0.
The 'Bats scored all the runs they needed, two, in the opening inning off Gary Gavlinski. He hit Ray Lemanski with a pitch to start the game. Ed Klieman followed with a single and, after an infield fly, Gregg Housey's infield blooper fell in for a hit and Sovey followed with an RBI single. Gary Faulkes, in his first game back after coming up from his home in North Carolina, grounded out to second to score the second run. There would have been two outs and two on, but one runner thought there were three outs and headed for the dugout and was called out.
Gavlinski had things mostly under control until the Silver Bats got an important insurance run in the fourth. Left-handed hitter Housey beat out a grounder to the right side when the first baseman couldn't get to the bag in time. Sovey then got a nice bunt down the first base line. Faulkes singled and Harmon's ground out scored Housey.
The winless Monarchs, who used a player from the Moran Stars and one from the Grays due to a couple injured players, got their run in the fifth. Andy Lukacs hard shot bounced off the shortstop's wrist for an error. Dan Priebe got a single and the run later scored on a hit by Tom Tavolacci that skipped past the right fielder.
Several key defensive plays by second baseman Lemanski thwarted possible Monarch rallies and there weren't many balls hit hard off Harmon.
The Silver Bats got their final run in a fielder's choice grounder by Harmon. Fred Krause, who was deprived of an extra base hit in his previous at bat on a hard stab of his liner to center by Gad Holland, opened the 'Bats sixth with a solid single. Housey walked and Sovey got another hit. After an infield fly, Harmon got his RBI forceout, then shut down the Monarchs in the sixth and seventh.
The triumph kept the Silver Bats within a game and a half of the first-place Moran Stars, who earlier at Rice defeated the co-leader Grays 9-4. Wednesday the Grays meet the Monarchs at 10 at Novi, followed by a Stars-Silver Bats showdown.
Three walks with two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning, followed by two infield hits, gave the Silver Bats a time-shortened 8-7 victory over the first-place Moran Stars at Novi and about the time everyone was headed to their cars the skies opened up with a huge downpour that didn't even leave time to cover the mound. While streets were flooded, branches down and traffic lights out at many intersections, the 'Bats had euphoric rides home and the Stars left dampened and depressed.
The Stars scored four runs in the opening inning and another in the third and then held on to the 5-2 lead until the 'Bats rallied for four runs in the fifth off starter Mark Switalski to pull ahead 6-5. But in the top of the sixth and time constraints making it the last inning, the Morans pushed across a pair of runs off Ed Klieman for a 7-6 lead and the bottom half of the Silver Bats order coming up.
Bill Wahl opened the inning in relief of Switalski and promptly walked Gary Faulkes -- his third walk of the day. Randy Stark was safe on an error, but Eddie Harmon hit into a double-play to put the Stars within an out of victory. The tying run, Faulkes, was on third with two outs and the Stars elected to intentionally walk Larry Paladino to get to No. 11 hitter Dave Franklin -- who worked the count full before walking to load the bases. That brought the top of the lineup back up and prompted the Stars to bring in ace starter Dennis MacDonald to get the last out. But Ray Lemanski slashed a single through the right side of the infield to tie the game and send Paladino to third. An infield hit by Klieman broke the tie.
In the four-run 'Bats fifth, Fred Krause, who was 3-for-3, and Tim Kostelnik singled in a run each and Gary Sovey got the big hit with a two-run poke.
MacDonald was the big stick in the Moran order, ripping two line drive hits to the outfield, te first being a two-run shot in the opening inning and the next a single to knock in an unearned run in the third after lefty Switalski opened the inning with an opposite field bullet through the legs of the third baseman for a two-base error. The Stars got 10 hits off southpaw Klieman, but he struck out seven, several in key situations, to keep the game close.
Earlier at the field the Grays defeated the Monarchs 9-3. So now there's a real battle for the top, with the Grays and Stars on top with 8-4 records and the defending champion Silver Bats a half game back at 7-4-1. With six games left, including two rain makeups, it's possible the three will keep knocking each other off and the race could go to the wire. If the winless Monarchs, who are much improved of late, have an upset or two along the way, it would really stir things up. It might come down to who has the most injuries or key players on vacation at the most inopportune time.
The top three batters in the Silver Bats order overall went 8-for-8 with nine runs scored and six RBI to lead the team to an 11-3 triumph over the Monarchs at Hamtramck Stadium. Leadoff man Ray Lemanski was 3-for-3 with three runs. No. 2 hitter Ed Klieman was 2-for-2 plus a walk, three runs, and a two-run homer; and No. 3 hitter Fred Krause, who leads the league in RBI, was 3-for-3 including a double and bases-loaded triple, with three runs and four RBI.
Gary Faulkes had two of the team's other runs-batted-in, while Sal Calcagno and Gregg Housey had one each. Tim Kostelnik walked three times against Tom Richards. The Monarchs actually outhit the Silver Bats 12-11 but pitcher Calcagno spread the hits out well, striking out two and walking just one. Richards walked six Silver Bats.
The victory put the 'Bats' record at 8-4-1, half a game behind the Grays' 9-4 record after they eclipsted the Moran Stars 5-0 to drop the Stars a game out of first at 8-5. With five games left in the 70s division it'll be nip and tuck all the way with the top three likely changing places often. The 'Bats play the Stars next, then every other game play the Grays, then Stars again.
Steve Kosuda pitched a masterful five-hitter, giving up one unearned run, in leading the Grays to a 6-1 victory over the Silver Bats in their battle for first place in the 70+ MSBL division. He struck out three and walked two. The run he gave up was the result of an infield error that scored Eddie Klieman who had doubled to lead off the bottom of the sixth inning.
His pitching counterpart, meanwhile, Sal Calcagno, allowed eight hits but all six runs were unearned -- three in the third due to two infield errors and three in the seventh as a result of an infield error. Calcagno's record fell to 4-4 while Kosuda raised his league-leading mark 8-2.
The Silver Bats entered the game at Royal Oak Memorial Field a half game behind the front-running Grays and so now are 1.5 games back with four games left. Both teams are battling for the title along with the Moran Stars. The 'Bats next play the Stars, then the Grays, then the Stars, and close against the Grays, so each game will be critical to all three.
Dennis MacDonald pitched a masterful two-hitter, striking out six and walking two, and his Moran Stars teammates got some clutch hits off Sal Calcagno to take a vital 4-0 victory over the Silver Bats at Brother Rice. The triumph kept the Stars one game behind the league leading Grays, who upended the Monarchs 10-1 in the followup game at Rice.
The Silver Bats probably needed to sweep their final four games to reclaimed the title earned the last two seasons. Now, even if they win their last three games (one against the Stars and two against the Grays), they would finish 11-6-1 and the other two teams, barring an upset by the winless Monarchs, would leave those teams tied 12-6 in the final standings.
MacDonald retired the first eight batters he faced before walking Larry Paladino on four pitches in the third inning. The first hit he allowed was a double by Ed Klieman the next inning and the only other baserunners were Calcagno with a leadoff single in the fifth and a one-out walk to Randy Stark. MacDonald retired the last seven Silver Bats.
The only run the Morans needed happened to be unearned in the second off Calcagno. MacDonald reached on an error to lead off and two 6-3 groundouts brought him home. A big two-out line drive single up the middle by Bob Homant scored a pair of runs for the Starts in the fifth. Mike Murphy had opened with a single and MacDonald ducked on a high pitch and was hit in the helmet. Phil Bartolone got a line single and then, with two outs and two strikes on him, Homant got his big two-run single.
The final Stars run came in a two-out single by Mike Murphy in the seventh to score Gad Holland, who had opened the inning with his third bunt hit of the game.
Rick Birch and Steve Kosuda found themselves locked in a pitchers' dual and neither one got the satisfaction of winning it.
Birch, playing in his first 70s game for the Silver Bats, and Kosuda of the Grays, who has dominated the division's pitching stats, had to walk away to no decision in a game that could have been won twice by the Silver Bats and perhaps once by the Grays. Instead, rain forced an end in the bottom of the fifth inning, the final score reverting to the fourth inning and a 1-1 game. But the tie kept the Grays atop the standings, a half game ahead of the Moran Stars, who earlier in the day at Brother Rice defeated the Monarchs 13-5.
The Silver Bats suffered a bad injury and possible victory when star Ed Klieman ripped a shot down the rightfield line in the top of the first. With his speed it had home run written all over it but as he rounded second he pulled up lame and barely made it to third, collapsing in pain with a leg muscle pull. Gregg Housey followed with a walk, but the next batter popped out and the last one grounded out without courtesy runner Sal Calcagno getting in from third.
Then the skies opened up and the tarp got hauled onto the mound. It wasn't yet a complete game. But the rain let up some and managers Rick Woodcock of the Grays and Larry Paladino of the Silver Bats elected to start up again and play in the drizzle. It was worth a try for the Grays, who had the top of the order up, but Birch, who struck out four in four innings, got them out in order.
Rain erupted heavy again and the tarp came out. But there was another letup and the game resumed, with the bottom of the Silver Bats order producing two runs on singles by Les Lindberg and Larry Paladino, plus fielders' choice grounders by Jim Brake and Dave Franklin, Franklin's bringing home two runs.
It looked like Birch, whose been concentrating on his 60s Zug Island Lugnuts team this year, looked like he could get a victory if he could hold off the Grays. But Gary Parsons doubled to left to lead off the bottom of the fifth and Tom Armstrong singled him to third. But what could have been a decisive inning ended as it started to pour and umpires stopped play, reverting the score to the last complete inning, the fourth.
The Silver Bats got their run in the opening inning. Calcagno hit a line single to center with one out, moved up on a ground out, and scored when Gregg Housey's grounder was missed at first for an error. The Grays run also was unearned. Tom Catanneo singled with one out and got to second on a throwing error. He came home on a single by Dan Moore.
All four teams in the division have two games left, both rain makeups. And unless the Monarchs happen to upset the Grays and the Stars, the Silver Bats can't finish first and it'll be a battle to the wire between the Stars and Grays.
The Silver Bats were without star center fielder Fred Krause for the game but Birch was able to make it for the first time and Lindberg, who lives in the Lansing area, was able to get to his second game of the year.
Dennis MacDonald pitched a three-hitter and his Moran Stars teammates scored in four innings against a depleted Silver Bats lineup to come away with a 9-3 victory at Brother Rice that keeps them a half-game behind the first-place Grays heading into the season finale for all four teams.
The Grays defeated the Monarchs 11-3 in the second game at Rice. If they beat the Silver Bats in their rain-makeup game Aug. 30 they'll take the championship regardless of what the Stars do afterwards against the Monarchs at Kyte Field A. But should the 'Bats upset the Grays, the Stars, who are half a game behind, would be in the drivers' seat against the winless Monarchs.
MacDonald gave up a run in the opening inning against the Silver Bats and an unearned one in the second before his teammates started scoring against Eddie Harmon and Sal Calcagno. They got a pair of runs in the bottom of the second inning, two each in the third and fourth, and three in the fifth. One of the runs off Harmon in the third was unerned and two of the three off Calcagno in the fifth were a result of an error.
The first Silver Bats run scored on a forceout by Gregg Housey after a walk to Gary Faulkes and single by Fred Krause. The 'Bats scored again in the second. Les Lindberg led off with a walk, was sacrificed to second by Larry Paladino and scored on an infield error. Krause led off the seventh with a hit; Housey was hit by a pitch; then Krause scored when Randy Stark's grounder was muffed at short.
MacDonald struck out five, walked four, hit one batter and three reached on errors. Harmon gave up 10 of the Moran's 14 hits.
It was a game that was going to decide the Detroit MSBL 70+ championship and the Silver Bats needed to beat the Grays in order for the second place Moran Stars to take the title. It didn't happen. The Silver Bats, without big hitter Fred Krause (stranded in Florida due to a hurricane) and with team MVP Ed Klieman pitching but hobbled by a hamstring injury, they fell to pitcher Steve Kosuda and the Grays 7-2 in very cold conditions at Kyte Monroe Park.
Kosuda passed out championship T-shirts after the game. Had Manager Rick Woodcock's Grays lost, the Stars would have won by a half game. They beat the winless Monarchs in the second game, 11-3. The two-time champion Silver Bats finished at .500 -- 8-8-2.
The Grays scored twice in the opening inning off Klieman, one run being unearned, then got a pair of unearned runs in the third. They pecked away, getting an insurance run in the fifth and a pair of runs in the top of the seventh. The top of the Silver Bats order, as usually has been the case all year, did the damage in the sixth, scored a pair of runs on a single by catcher Gregg Houseyo after singles by leadoff man Ray Lemanski, shortstop Sal Calcagno, and a walk by Kleiman -- who had a single to lead off the fourth and under 70s rules, a ball that goes to the outfield is a hit automatically. A courtesy runner went in for him.
The Grays collected 14 hits and got five walks, though Klieman struck out nine. Kosuda, meanwhile, allowed 11 hits while raising his league-leading record to 11-2.
Afterwards, the Silver Bats held their annual team party. It was down the street on Harper at the Boat Works. Prizes were passed out, with Klieman earning MVP honors, with Calcagno second and Krause third. Klieman and Krause were tied for second last year behind MVP Calcagno, who had a great pitching year. Gary Sovey, the MVP in the inaugural season in 2021 for his pitching, was named comeback player of the year for his work at first base and some hitting -- after having undergone heart bypass surgery in March. Jim Brake was co-comeback player after being there all season following a 2022 campaign that saw his sidelined vitually the whole season due to illness.
Eddie Harmon, who had three pitching starts this season, also has made it a long way back after a couple years of illness. Roger Rushford and Dave Franklin, meanwhile continued their fight over various ailments to play some solid baseball in the batting order. And kudos definitely go to Housey, the iron-man catcher who caught every inning of every game, and hit well, too, driving in 16 runs. Lemanski was a stellar leadoff batter and second baseman all year and Gary Faulkes, playing about half the games after coming up from North Carolina, was a big contributor.
Everyone else on the team had key moments that showed it was truly a team effort. The Silver Bats lost a couple key players from last season and never quite made up the losses, yet were very competitive in all but one game. Manager Larry Paladino is hoping to add a few missing ingredients by the time the 2024 campaign arrives, as almost certainly the other three teams will be doing.
Congratulations to the Grays on their championship season and to the Dennis MacDonald's Stars for coming so close. And the 0-17-1 Monarchs -- starting from scratch isn't easy. How do you find 70+ ballplayers? But thank you Manager Joe Masching for the effort because a four-team division is so much better than one of three. And next year you'll undoubtedly come up with some hidden talent and be winning your share of games.
Silver Bats Schedule